Woohoo! Three of us replying now. **laugh** SG, the website is looking very good! Y'need to add a couple Bespin Leia pics, though. (I'm sure you will) I really like the Jedi costumes - they're quite original! Is the Sith a Darth Maul?

Darth_Eagle, if the person is *that* much taller than you, you're probably better off to go with making your own. I know that's not the best news to hear, but their costume would have to be altered quite a bit to match your proportions height-wise - not as easy as chopping off the bottom. :\ Besides, I get a ton of satisfaction knowing that my costumes are for *me*. **grin**

Oy, I have a nasty habit of getting off-topic rather quickly. ; So, here's my current brainstorm.

Have you (SG, DE, and anyone reading this) ever thought about designing an ORIGINAL Amidala gown? Yes, I know it sounds like a daunting task, but I've been thinking about doing something like this lately, and I think it could be a lot of fun, too. How to do it? Well, that's where I was hoping I could get some help. The usual stuff would be incorporated somehow (her symbol and the face makeup), but the dress itself would be a completely new creation.

Anyone?

kreleia ^.^

EDIT: P.S. Going to check out that "Mystery" trailer right now... must see new gown!

Actually, I am having a Sith Garb that resemblem Darth Maul coming and now waiting for the vest to be ready. LOL I can't believe the seamstress forget to add the button lip and press studs for the inner shirt. I think she thought that shirt is a "Kebaya" Gown which don't have any button and have the front closed using 3-4 broches conneted by a chain. But overall so far, I'm 80% satisfied with the job.

I guess it's just temptation when comes to that local fan's Darth Maul garb. It's not every day that you can buy the full battle garb with face paint, horns, "lightsaber" and glove for under US$65! But I e-mailed him back asking how good/close the costume is since I can't remember much about it and will decide till then if his costume meet my "standards". If not, his offer will be passed to other local fans.

About original designs for Amidala gown, nope, I haven't thought of any. But I'm tempted to do the Amidala Mourning Gown my friend designed after I'm done with my major projects (that at least 7 costumes ready by May 2002 project). It's beautiful IMHO with golden dove and black feathers on the head and the gown aka Victorian/Edwardian(sp?) era. And best of all, it's in my favourite color: Black! It is a little change from her usual Maul's drawings.

Yes, lots still to be done with the website. Hopefully, we'll add quite a bit in the fairly near future (including Bespin Leia), and clean up some of the current problems. (The sith isn't Darth Maul, just a quickie on the fly cobbling together of random bits for fun and silliness...)

I've thought fleetingly in the past of doing an original Amidala gown, but I always end up commuting those ideas to something else. I often have that moment of "that would be neat on an Amidala costume, but it would be REALLY cool for a Mardi Gras outfit!" Or a wedding dress, or a piece of daywear, etc.

So, do you have any preliminary idea for your original Amidala? A fabric you yearn to use or a silhouette line you favor? I really like the idea of a giant, tall, cruel looking collar adorned with feathers attached to something with a really expansive undercarriage. (Think Jean-Paul Gaultier meets Marie Antoinette) Lots of jaggedy but luxurious trim. But then, I start thinking again that would be good for Mardi Gras. sigh.

SG, draw a quickie sketch of the "extreme" look you have in mind - if you can. I'd love to see this.

No, I don't really have a particular fabric in mind, or even a silhouette... **bad** Actually, what inspired me was Gwyneth Paltrow's cool silver headpiece thing in "Shakespeare In Love." Okay, now I can hear you groaning "Oh, man, not another headpiece. Not another medieval gown." **laugh** Let me assure you that my preliminary ideas are exactly that - preliminary. I'm extremely open to changes, suggestions, and completely scrapping the whole thing if need be.

**nervous** Here's the first quickie sketch I drew up yesterday. I'm not the best artist, so ignore her face. [link=http://drivingcat.home.mindspring.com/cosplay/images/amidala_idea1.jpg]http://drivingcat.home.mindspring.com/cosplay/images/amidala_idea1.jpg[/link] Heh. It looks a lot like the Episode 2 gray gown actually (that wasn't on purpose). Like I said, I'm open to anything. I also tried to incorporate the high feathered collar thing you were talking about, SG, but the sketch hardly does your idea justice, I'm sure. Also, the look seems a bit soft to me, but I'm at a loss as to what to do to make it more rigid and "queenly."

Fire away!
kreleia ^.^

P.S. I LOVE that gray gown!!! It's gorgeous!! I really like that sparkly black one she's wearing too, the one with the "tube" headpiece thing. Hmmm...

Very cool drawing!! What darker color did you have in mind on the bottom?? I really liked the sleeves and collar. I viewed the newest trailer today and liked almost all the outfits I saw. My favorite one was the flowing (chiffon?) gown with the pastels colors. I also liked the gray one.
I can't wait to see still photo's of all the fashions for Padme in EPII.
Now I have to decide if I want to scrap the one I was starting on and go with one from EPII!!

Heehee, I'll love to scrape my current costume projects (all 7 of them) for the EpII gowns (any one) but I think I better stick to my words now. I'm halfway through some of them anyway, especially the ANH Leia one. And with the enquiring of the Black Travel Gown 4" Action Figure (Bird Gown, I call it now), I think I can carry out my theory on how to do the outer coat's look. It's gonna be a lot more headache than Maul's outer cloak (found a shortcut for creating the pleats! )

Hey! If you got the chance, try to get this action figure cause the gown really look very bird-like. And it got an easter egg on what Sabe wore underneath the gown!

I have been a little busy, doing what, I don't know, but I must have been sewing something.

Oooh!Oooh!
How did your Moulin Rouge costumes turn out surlygirlie??
We went to see it again in the theater this past week end. It was the 4th time for me. Vince & Quincy have seen it 5 times.

This year for the Halloween season, we alternated between Star WArs and Harry Potter costumes. Quincy won 3 different contests in one day!

Several posts up, someone asked how you go about charging people for sewing stuff, Holly, shoot an email my way.

December will be my month for doing Imperial costumes this year. I am in my millinary mode right now (making hats)

btw--we saw Harry Potter on opening weekend. I was too stunned to enjoy the first few minutes of the movie because I saw the "Forbidden Love" trailer. 14!!!! 14 different Padme/Amidala costumes in the 2:15. I watched the trailer frame-by-frame as soon as I got home and downloaded it.
I don't know where to begin!!!

Anyhoo, I seem to have come up with a question that's stumping those of us who tend to reply to this board. What would you do with an original Queen Amidala dress? (design, accessories, etc). Yes, this is actually something I want to put together! Celebration 2? Maybe, if I have the $$ to get there... I would certainly make every effort to get there with this dress, though. In my... last?... yes... my last post, I put up a link to a very preliminary drawing I did. Any suggestions??

And, I'm sorry.. did I read that right? 14 new dresses for Ep 2?? **passes out**

EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeek! Kreleia, I'm so lame, it's not even funny. I actually did whip out a little sketch for you a while back, but at the moment, it's lost on my desk at work under one of the many piles of paper I've been accumulating...
However, I did want to check in with you about the presenate gown... I've totally scrapped the iridescent taffeta plan. I found some really lovely slate colored crepe chiffon, and when that's layered over a light purpley fabric, it looks really dead on. So, I think that's where this redo is headed fabric wise. AND after rewatching a bit of Phantom Menace, I noticed that it looks like that kimono has *gasp* NO shoulder seams. I'm starting to think this might be best served if the bodice and sleeves of the kimono are one piece, and then the skirt is sewn on at the waist. The waistline seam would be hidden by the obi. Also, when looking at reference BEWARE! It looks like there were TWO versions of the kimono made -- I first realized this while looking at the picture that appeared in the April '99 (I think) issue of Vogue -- the beaded embroidery on the screen-used kimono carries onto the bodice, while the one shown in Vogue is only on the sleeves, and the sleeves are definitely set in, and not an all in one cut. I'm going to do some experimenting in the coming month, and I'll report back on my findings. If I can find some magical way to draft the pattern for this thing that works to my satisfaction, I'll be glad to make you a copy, if you like. Wish me luck!

Nostradamus, we should be adding Moulin Rouge pics to our little site soon -- I'll make sure to give you a squawk when we update. When do we get to see pictures of your Harry Potter stuff? After seeing the film, I was mildly tempted to do a Madame Hooch costume, but I think that's worn off -- it was really just aviator glove envy, I'm confident.

Darth Eagle, what's your pleating shortcut? Or is it a secret? Keep us posted on the travel gown progress!

I have a largish project in mind for the early part of the upcoming year, but whenever that's done, it's on to Ep. II costumes! Wheeeeeeeee!

Hey SG!! No problem with the sketch. ^.~ I know you're a busy person, so no worries about getting it up NOW. **grin**

That's *very* interesting about the kimono sleeves. I'd noticed in the Visual Dictionary pics that there aren't any sleeve seams, and I was curious about how that would be pulled off. Of course, my old version had seams. I wasn't aware of the second version in Vogue - and I thought I'd seen those pics... ; Maybe I didn't study them enough (at the time) to really notice.

Here's a good pre-senate gown pic I picked up... somewhere (it was a long time ago)

...and now that I'm really studying the pic, it looks like it actually *is* an in-set sleeve - sort of. Check out the faint diagonal line that almost looks like a wrinkle. (those arrows are the obvious marking by me)

Now check out this pic from... someone on this board. I saved them for more reference, and it shows the sleeve seam really well. Different lighting works wonders. (again, arrows by me)

Anyway, enough micro-analyzation for now. I need to sleep (I've been sick for a couple days - blah).

Keep me posted, SG!
kreleia ^.^

EDIT: Yes! I really would like to see what you come up with for the kimono pattern! Now that I've looked at it forever and ever this afternoon, I have an idea in my head of what it might look like - maybe we're on the same wave length. And, tell me more about the slate-colored chiffon! What kind of fabric would you layer it on top of to get the right body? I was convinced that gray irredescent taffeta was the way to go (if I could only find some - even the JoAnn's by me doesn't have any in stock! :\ ).

I have yet to go through the DVD costume documentary frame-by-frame, but I will as soon as I get a chance. (I just bought a DVD player on Tuesday, so I'm behind. But it was the first thing I watched on the TPM DVD. Actually, it was the first thing I watched on any DVD. ) As far as screen caps, they've made sure to make it as difficult as possible. You can't make captures directly, only if you have hardware for making captures from an external video source. I.e. if you had the capability to make screencaps from VHS tapes, and if you can plug your DVD player in the same way you plugged in your VCR before, then you can make lovely still pictures of the contents of the DVD (with some loss of quality, but better than nothing).

Unfortunately, I don't have the proper setup, so we'll have to rely on some other enterprising souls.

Fortunately, Quicktime is another matter. I made captures of all the costumes in the Forbidden Love trailer; you can find them [link=http://members.aol.com/jpalotay/index.html]here.[/link]

Ooooooooooooh, you may really have something there, Kreleia! Now, of course, I'm completely uncertain of how those pesky sleeves would be best constructed. I'll try a couple of things and see what looks closest, I imagine. I had noticed the little ornamentations on the earpieces, also, but I haven't had the drive to pursue it yet.

As for fabrics under the chiffon, I haven't decided yet. I've played a little with everything from cheap broadcloth to dupioni silk, and I still want to look some more. Any excuse to hit the fabric store... heeheehee.

SG, don't use broadcloth!!! **laugh** Trust me on this, it won't work well at all! If you *really* want to see my horrid attempt at this costume from two years ago, I'll PM the pics to you. *That* was broadcloth. NEVER AGAIN!! Back to the idea of silk shantung, if you used a super-heavy-duty interfacing (and boning, as you've suggested), you could probably get the right body. For that matter, I suppose almost *any* fabric could work with that kind of reinforcing... Still, broadcloth will not be an option for me, this go 'round. That, and I'm still going to keep my eyes peeled for irredescent gray taffeta - just in case.

Those gold symbols on the earpieces... I'm not too sure I want to do them, myself. I noticed them in the documentary, but how noticable are they really? In the movie, not at all. Nobody's going to miss them, especially since it's people like us who're the only ones to tend to really study and notice. Maybe if I get really really inspired and find a wonderful way to mold them, I will, but until then... nah!

Normally, I would never ever EVER use broadcloth for much of anything... I abhor the stuff...but it's a remote option for this one because I will interface most of this thing and line it entirely. Also, it only *barely* shows through the crepe chiffon, which in this case is a slightly heavier weight than most chiffons. I can make almost any fabric have the right body, I'm really just focusing on color effect.

Just a question... How many of Amidala's gowns have you done...? I would love to get a full gown done... but I think I'm going to wait till i get more pictures of the EP2 dress that I really really want.... Good job on the costumes by the way!!!

**whew!!** Yes, SG, you scared me. You scared me BADLY!!! I'm glad that it's low on the option list, but just to even see broadcloth mentioned made the hairs on my head almost stand straight up! **laugh**

Hi I'm new here and I saw the costumeing topic and thought, Hey maybe I can get some help! I've been wanting to do Padme's rainbow gown from EP2 you know the backless one. Does anyone have any ideas to help me. I sew alot but the only costume I've made is Leia's ANH dress. I"m hopeing to wear my new costume to Celbration2. By the way, I love the photos of all of your costumes! You must put alot of work into this!

Hey SG, I just had a brainstorm about those pesky penguin sleeves. I'm going to use my old costume (a la, the broadcloth atrocity) as my "test subject." Since it has the colors and the beading on the sleeves (and heaven knows it won't be seen anymore in public), I figure I can do a bit of experimentation on it. Hopefully I won't end up completely massacreing the poor robe before something works.

I'll let you know what I come up with (although patterns won't be used, and this could get messy).

Surlygirl, I just had a idea for your costume! I'm sure that the purple coat (or whatever you want to call it) with the huge sleeves. In the simplicty (or maybe Mcalls) pattern book, under the costume section, I saw a dress that looked almost exactly the same! it had those huge sleeves and all that. I can't rember what it was called but it was with all the renassiance patterns. I just thought I'd let you know, things are always easyer with a pattern, even if you do have to change it a little. I hope this helps.

Princess1, I've been digging through the online pattern catalogs (Simplicity, McCall's, Butterick, etc), and I'm not finding anything that looks remotely like the sleeves in the Pre-senate dress. Was the book you were looking through new/current? Any details on the picture/pattern you saw would be *very* helpful! Heaven knows I'm drooling to find out more... (nothin' like cheating a bit )

I don't have a scanner or I'd try to post a picture, and I don't know how to link. But I think the pattern was in the costume section, under medevil maidens, or something like that. Theres another pattern that I used once to make a costume for a shapespear play. Its a full length dress, with those really big sleeves (or pretty close anyway) the sleeves are on the outer dress, and theres a under dress that you wouln't have to use, you couldmake something else. In the pattern its full skirted, but it looks like all they used was about a billion pettycoats or a hoop skirt. You could leave out the hoop skirt and not do all the laceing up the front and it would be sort of like the purple coat. Theres two dresses in the picture, one is green and looks kinda like something like lady in waiting would wear. The one I mentionend is standing there, with the person in the green dress bowing to her. The pattern is current, but I can't rember the exact name, but I'll go check and post it later. I know this is kinda long, but I hope the description helped a little.

Ok I'm back! I founds the pattern and its called Renaissance Maidens. Its in the Simplictity pattern book under costumes. Its #7756. It looks like you'd have to change the neckline and make the sleeves bigger and a little longer. Another pattern with simular sleeves is Old Fashioned Delights Simplicity #9713. Its the blue dress on the left. But I think the first pattern I mentioned is closer. If you go someplace like walmart or a fabric store and look in the pattern books you should find them, and a whole lot more renaissance patterns, that would be a good place to look since her dresses in Ep2 seem to be leaning twoard that time period. Also for people who are trying to do the dress with the bronze head piece, which is sometimes covered by the veil, sometimes not. I would look att the first pattern I mentioned. The head piece in this pattern has a simular shape. Hope this helps, if it dosen't make sense, just ask!

For Simplicity 7756, I think you have to change the sleeve pattern a lot cause it's more a normal sleeves, except that the rim is wider and "lower" side of the sleeves more longer than the "upper" side.

I thought of using the sleeve pattern for the base of my Sith Cloak but turned out Simplicity 8192 (C, minus the knot) is some much better and wider, able to create the "knife blade" look when the sleeves laid flat in a certain way.

Why not use a kimono pattern for the body part as usual? Sleeves, still not much patterns I can think of you can use. To me, it still look like the sleeves of the Travelling Handmaid and Maul Cloak, only different is the shape and how it was sew (someone did mention what's the sleeves called in the Handmaid Topic, right?).

For the Pre-Senat gown you should check out McCalls patterns under the cotume section, I think its called Tudor Rose, or something like that, I can't remeber the number. Anyway, its alot closer then the one I mentioned before, everyone should take a look, the sleeves are really cool.